Using a Pressure Cooker for Canning and Cooking

08 Oct Using a Pressure Cooker for Canning and Cooking

A pressure cooker can be an eco-friendly option for both cooking and for canning your lovely garden vegetables. Because it cooks in about 1/2 to 1/3 of the time, it saves energy. It works as a great option for stews and soups. Pressure cooking will also help tenderize your meat!

Here is a recommendation from the Mother Earth News boards: “A few years back we sailed the Pacific. We used our pressure cooker almost daily in order to save propane during the long voyages. Everything cooks faster under pressure because it raises the boiling point and temperature of water. My favorite was using it to cook bread. We would make small dough and place it in the pressure cooker with a small amount of water for steam and cook it until it smelled like bread. I guess a pressure cooker is just a tiny little oven when used like that.”

And here’s another on how to use your pressure cooker for canning those lovely tomatoes in your garden: “I use my pressure cooker to prepare tomatoes for canning. I wash then core the tomatoes and cut them in half then cut them into smaller slices and put them into the cooker with 1/2 cup water. Follow the cooking directions for tomatoes for your cooker (mine uses 10 minutes). Then I pour the tomatoes into a bowl to cool a little while the next batch is being prepared. While the second batch is cooking, I spoon the “cooled” batch into my blender and puree it a little at a time, this is then poured into a pitcher in order to make filling the canning jars easier. Fill your jars and can them in your usual way. The sauce will separate over time but this is remedied by stirring when opened. NOTE: I do not peel the tomatoes therefore you don’t lose nutrients in the skin and fiber is gained. When I use the sauce I can season it for any dish because it is canned plain. My husband loves spaghetti so this is what I make most; again using the pressure cooker, cook the meat in the pan, add the correct seasonings and cook under pressure for about 20 minutes. In about an hour you have a meal tastes like it simmered all day.”

Happy cooking, canning and saving energy at the same time!

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2 Comments

I like pressure cookers for canning, but not for cooking. I need things to “slow cook” so that they have lots of flavor, therefore, I’m a crockpot cook. I find that with the pressure cooker, no matter how much seasoning you use, food comes out tasteless. nevertheless, I have one that I never use anymore. I’m thinking “freecycle, here I come!”

Flora

Freecycle is a GREAT thing. I love it too. Sounds like someone should invent a pressure cooker that doesn’t take away from the taste but still cooks quickly to save the energy. Thanks for contributing. ~Flora